Another Floppy Rear Fender

My son's 2006 access cab 2WD 2.7's rear fenders have always made ugly noises when shutting the doors and seem awfully floppy / weak when I grab and shake them. I took a picture of the underside and it looks like it has one thin support running to it from the frame, is that all it should have? This truck has had a frame replacement and the rear / behind the tire portion of the fender is pretty stout, here is a pic of the front underside:

 

my 06 access cab does this too, i got used to it and now just sounds like "my truck" when i close the doors.

 

Could it possibly be the fuel door rattling around? If someone holds the fuel door while the doors are closed, does it still make the sound you're referring to? Additionally, it could be your fuel line that is inside your fender that is rattling. Have someone hold that while the door is closed. We can narrow this down.

-J

 

For me its the whole left bedside

 

Between the bed and the cab of the truck, in that gap there should be about 4 to 6 bolts. Can you tighten any of them? It would be easier to do with the bed off the truck, but that's a whole different can of worms. Rattles typically come from loose hardware. Others have found that the rattle comes from the plastic bed rail toppers shaking around. Pop them off and put some doublesided 3m foam sticky tape between the rail and the plastic cap. Treat for rust while you're under there. I can't think of any other places where a rattle would come from on an older Gen 2. Perhaps check the bed rail hardware. You dont have one of those wheel well cubbies in your bed right? I think they were added on the 12's and up. My guess would be something to do with your fuel tank/system though. Have someone stand back there while you open and close the doors, narrow it down from there.

-J

 

Bed bolts are tight and i do have bed cubbies, the rails have a softopper cranked down on them and it still makes the sound

 

Just went out and verified that it is definitely the lower section of the body vibrating / shaking when you shut the door, you can watch it shake when you shut the door.

 

Hmm, Ok. When I speak of the bed bolts, I'm not talking about the 6 huge T60 or T75 bed bolts that hold your bed to your frame, I'm talking about the ones that hold your bedside on. I'm going off memory, but I believe there's like 6 bolts squeezed on the front of your bed, so 12 total for each side. I'm sure they are tight which leads me back to my origional thought that it has something to do with the fuel system. Fuel door or fuel line heading into the tank could be the issue. I believe there's a few clamps that keep the fuel vent line secured to the inlet tube, if those brackets/clamps are rusted or loose it might cause the rattle that you're hearing. I would check those areas while someone closes the door. It might help to pull out the fender liner on that side to see whats going on in there.

-J

 

Does it look like its rattling on anything? I dont have an 06 but bed design should be similar. I'll take a peek at mine when I get off work here in a bit. I know that I lost one of those little rubber stoppers in my fuel door which causes that to rattle when I close my door but I haven't noticed my bedside drastically shaking. Ill take a peek when get to see the sun.

-J

 

I just ordered both right and left side panel braces, the originals were looking pretty shabby and rotted. Will install them with new hardware and report back, Thanks.....Mark.

 

Went out and washed my truck and started smacking things. The left bedside rattle is actually the inner fender liner hitting the bed tub. And the right bedside is also movable but i never noticed! The support that keeps it steady seems to have wallowed out holes so im just gonna slap bigger bolts through it with lock washers. Done and done.

 

As promised the final update:

I ordered the left and right supports from Toyota Parts Overstock;

Description:SKIRT SUB-ASSY, SIDE PANEL, REAR LH
Part Number: 6560904010
Quantity:1
Price:$23.85
Description:BRACE, SIDE PANEL SKIRT, FRONT RH
Part Number: 6567104050
Quantity:1
Price:$16.29

I am not sure if I ordered the right or wrong parts since the braces that I removed from the 2006 2.7 2WD 5 lug were identical and the parts I received were not, the driver's side had 2 lower mounting points to the fender vs. 1 mounting point on the original. This particular truck did have a frame replacement so that may of been a factor, not sure. Either way it worked out because I was able to utilize both lower mounting points on the driver's side, I simply removed one of the plastic "rivets" holding on the lower bed plastic cover, it is now MUCH more stable. Passenger side seems better also, all in for ~ $60 with parts and stainless bolts, nuts and fender washers.

Parts:



One note regarding the installation: Every bolt I removed of course snapped off, not too big of a deal for the lower fender mount bolts but the upper mount points had a steel pressed in part that the bolts threaded into. There was no way to get the broken / rusted studs out so I had to saw off the pressed in part, I broke out the handy Harbor Freight Oscillating Cutter and put on a good Carbide Tipped metal cutting blade:



New Braces Installed:





Good Luck!!

 

Looks good bud. If it's not already in your to-do list, I would treat the bed rail caps for rust. I see quite a lot of surface rust from the pictures, but it's hard to tell if its superficial.

-J

 

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing but I'm going to leave that up to the kid. I bought it for him to use when he was 16 and he immediately spent two weeks going after the rust and Por15 painted everything then undercoated it, he's not afraid of work.



It will have to wait until next spring, he's away at college. Do you know of a write-up or DIY on removing the bed rails? Thanks.....Mark.

 

It was my understanding that they are just clipped in and by pulling up on the front and slowly working your way to the back should lift them out of the clips. Let me double check.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/05-tacoma-bed-rail-reinforcement.270658/
I cant see the photos on the work computer, but this might have some information for you. I'm positive that removal is fairly straight forward.

-J